Cartoon by Giacomo Cardelli http://www.cartoonmovement.com/cartoon/246
Hello Grade 8!
This Pathfinder will help you find relevant information on peace and conflict to support your classwork.
Defining your topic
Before you start searching for information, take a moment to decide what you want to search, think about keywords (words related to the topic you have in mind), and make a list of things and facts you already know about your topic as well as things you wonder about it.
Here are some examples of keywords:
Peace
Peacemakers
"Nations in conflict" (use quotation marks when you search more than one word)
"United Nations"
"Peace one day"
"Consequences of war"
"Ethnic conflit"
"Global truce"
Syria
...and more
Locating Information
Once you have a good list of keywords, you can start by searching an encyclopedia for background information. Click on the World Book icon below to start your search:
Click on Student or Advanced
Besides the encyclopedia articles with links to magazine articles, you will also be able to access newspapers from all over the World.
Once you gained a better understanding of the topic, continue your search for more information on our Library Catalog. There you can find the books and DVDs that are available in the library as well as selected websites. Yes! Our catalog is also a search engine. Click on the "Web Sites" tab on the top of the page to see the links to the websites.
You will also need some current developments and issues connected to your topic, which you can find on magazines and newspapers articles as well as on some primary source documents . You can search on EBSCO and on ABC-CLIO. Click on the icons below.
Choose "Student Research Center" and "Points of View"
Here are a few organizations that might be useful:
Now that you located the information you needed, you need to check the credibility of the information and the source. As you look at the source, ask yourself the following questions:
Who is the author?
When was it written?
Is this information aimed to inform, explain or advocate?
Is the information well organized and easy to understand?
Is this source scholarly or popular?
For more details on how to evaluate information sources, visit the Critical Evaluation of Sources page from the University of Oregon Libraries.
Citing Sources of Information
When writing a report or a paper, you are expected to cite all your sources of information by providing a bibliography and in-text citation. In order to organize the bibliography, you need to use a specific type of writing/citation style. Middle School students at CIS are expected to use the MLA (Modern Language Association) style.
Use EasyBib to create your bibliography and citation as well as to keep your notes. The school offers EasyBib premium which allows you to create your own login and save bibliographies and notes your many different projects. Click on the icon below to access EasyBib. The first login must be made on campus.
Hello Grade 8!
This Pathfinder will help you find relevant information on peace and conflict to support your classwork.
Defining your topic
Before you start searching for information, take a moment to decide what you want to search, think about keywords (words related to the topic you have in mind), and make a list of things and facts you already know about your topic as well as things you wonder about it.
Here are some examples of keywords:
Locating Information
Once you have a good list of keywords, you can start by searching an encyclopedia for background information. Click on the World Book icon below to start your search:
Besides the encyclopedia articles with links to magazine articles, you will also be able to access newspapers from all over the World.
Once you gained a better understanding of the topic, continue your search for more information on our Library Catalog. There you can find the books and DVDs that are available in the library as well as selected websites. Yes! Our catalog is also a search engine. Click on the "Web Sites" tab on the top of the page to see the links to the websites.
You will also need some current developments and issues connected to your topic, which you can find on magazines and newspapers articles as well as on some primary source documents . You can search on EBSCO and on ABC-CLIO. Click on the icons below.
Here are a few organizations that might be useful:
United Nations
Peace One Day
Amnesty International
Seeds of Peace
Peace Corps
Doctors Without Borders
Selecting and Evaluating the Information
Now that you located the information you needed, you need to check the credibility of the information and the source. As you look at the source, ask yourself the following questions:
For more details on how to evaluate information sources, visit the Critical Evaluation of Sources page from the University of Oregon Libraries.
Citing Sources of Information
When writing a report or a paper, you are expected to cite all your sources of information by providing a bibliography and in-text citation. In order to organize the bibliography, you need to use a specific type of writing/citation style. Middle School students at CIS are expected to use the MLA (Modern Language Association) style.
Use EasyBib to create your bibliography and citation as well as to keep your notes. The school offers EasyBib premium which allows you to create your own login and save bibliographies and notes your many different projects. Click on the icon below to access EasyBib. The first login must be made on campus.